Serve by Design

I recently participated in a three-day training event for Illinois State Police chaplains. It is a privilege to serve alongside thirty volunteer chaplains throughout the state. We serve the commanders, troopers, and public as needed for support, ceremonial functions, and during emergency crises. While we train online quarterly, we have not been able to meet in-person since the Pandemic. This return to normal is what made this gathering a little more special! Bedding Perfection! This event was an important time of team building, classroom discussion, CPR recertification, and touring by van to the various ISP facilities that included central command downtown, the training academy near Chatham and the Pawnee shooting range where we saw a demonstration of the elite K9’s and their trainers in action, and also a demo of the precision driving required to navigate the Emergency Vehicle Operation’s course. We also toured the cadet barracks at the academy and observed their regimented para-mil...

The hoopla surrounding this week’s solar eclipse was contagious! Even though I was nonchalantly saying to Monique, “Honey, we just saw a solar eclipse last October during the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta! For me, it’s just ‘Deja vu all over again!’” (Thank you, Yogi Berra!). However, as the event got closer, even I couldn’t resist the hype! "I see it!" At 12:55 pm Monday, we stepped outside, put on our eclipse glasses (a must have!), and stood by the side door of our garage. The view was perfect… at least for me! Mimi was trying to get her balance and crane her neck upwards, but she still couldn’t see the sun. I moved over next to her and gently moved her head even further up while coaching her to “Look way up!” Finally, she exclaimed, “I see it! It’s a crescent shape!” During the next thirty minutes or so, we enjoyed a partial eclipse! What was only a partial eclipse for us in central Illinois became a total eclipse for nearly 32 million in the 100-mile-wide pathway of total...

On Saturday, October 14, 2023, 10:36 am, a spectacular event occurred that could only be observed in parts of the western United States, as well as Central and South America. Weeks in advance of the annular solar eclipse, I was reading and hearing about it on the news. I knew that we were going to be visiting our family during this exact time. I just didn’t realize, at the time of first hearing about this, just how unique it all would be! We quite literally were in the “right place at the right time!” The zenith point for optimal viewing of this epic eclipse was Albuquerque, New Mexico! Looking upward with our "stylish" eclipse glasses! We took it all in so easily as we stood in our daughter’s kitchen in the suburb of nearby Rio Rancho and looked out over the Sandia Mountains to the east. It was like we were standing in a private celestial theater. What made this solar eclipse so unusual was that it happened when the moon orbited at its farthest point from earth. As it passed...

I am sure that my eyes used to “glaze over” a little when older adults in our church began talking about their illnesses, doctor appointments and exploratory procedures. Now that I am one of those Medicare card-carrying seniors, I have joined the ranks of my peers who delight in droning on with numerous war stories! We had another procedure this week that required general anesthesia. By now we know the regimen because of experiences with past colonoscopies! The drill at the clinic surgery center has become all too familiar! Image credit: depositphotos.com This time it was an endoscopy. The first for either one of us. Monique has had a persistent cough for months now and our endocrinologist decided to clinically scope her “food pipe” as he referred to it. Technology has advanced to the point that the scope is equipped to take a biopsy, stretch or dilate any narrowed areas, and it is also fitted with a camera to document everything discovered with numerous pictures. All of this is quite ...

  During the course of an average summer, I deal with an assortment of living things. Our yard becomes a sanctuary for squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, and a variety of birds from the beloved Cardinals to the bullying Bluebirds. We also have to control some welcomed pollinators like honeybees and bumblebees, but we're on guard against too many pesky wasps and spiders! We have had geese and ducks from a nearby pond try to lay their eggs under our bushes and “start their families” on our premises as well. Several years back, our dog Freddie gingerly rolled one of those goose eggs out of his mouth and onto the ground right in front of me. His tail was wagging wildly and the expression in his eyes seemed to say, "See what I brought you today, master! Do you still like me?!"😕 However, in the nearly thirty years we've lived in this house, I don’t think I have ever had a sizable tortoise (or turtle) take up residence under our rose-lavender flowering rhododendron plant though...